Wikipedia bans 381 'black hat' accounts for misleading editing

Wikipedia is again cracking down on contributors and editors that are violating its guidelines.

The site's editors have banned 381 accounts for charging or accepting money for their contributions, without disclosing the information — what Wikipedia calls "undisclosed paid advocacy."

Wikipedia administrators announced they had blocked the accounts Monday following a weeks-long investigation nicknamed "Orangemoody."

The banned accounts were all identified as "sock" accounts, according to the site's editors. Sock, short for sockpuppets, refers to people who maintain "misleading or deceptive" accounts. Wikipedia bans people from writing or editing articles about people or companies they are affiliated with so a "sock" account may be one that disguises the author's affiliations Read more...